Knitting machine



Aug. 11, 1964 w. PALANGE KNITTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.15, 1961 WALTER PALANGE INVENTOR. BY M, :M NM

' ATTORNEYS Aug. 11, 1964 w. PALANGE 3,143,868

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 WALTER PALANGEINVENTOR.

Elk 10M, Mum/ ATTORNEYS Aug. 11, 1964 w. PALANGE 3,143,868

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR WalterPolunge MM JM ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,143,868 KNITTING MACHINEWalter Palange, 35A Moddermanstraat, Tilburg, Netherlands Filed Sept.15, 1961, Ser. No. 138,334 Claims priority, application NetherlandsSept. 16, 1960 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-1) The present invention relates to amachine for manufacturing knitted fabrics, comprising two needle bedswhich are positioned opposite to each other and can move towards andaway from eachother, and in which the points of the needles of one bedare adapted to move toward and then along the points of the needles ofthe other bed, said needles having a U-shaped cross-section throughwhich the threads are guided.

Such a machine is disclosed in Italian patent specification 571,889.

The object of the present invention is to provide a needle structurewhich makes it possible to position the needles in the needle bedscloser to each other in side by side relationship, so that it ispossible to knit finer fabrics.

In the knitting machine according to the invention, therefore, theextremity of each needle consists of one sidewall of the otherwiseU-shaped needle and said extremity is provided with a guiding eye.

In the drawing an embodiment of the machine and of the needle accordingto the invention are shown as compared to the known embodiment.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the known needle.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of known needles in a portion of the knownmachine.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the needle according to the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of needles according to the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section of the needlebeds with the needles accordingto the invention.

FIGURE 6 is a side-elevation of a needle according to the invention,which is provided with a knitting thread in a predetermined knittingposition relative to the needles on the opposite bed.

FIGURE 7 shows the same needle in a dilferent relative knittingposition.

FIGURE 8 shows a plan of the machine according to FIGURE 5.

FIGS. 9-12 are schematic represenations of the needles in ditferentpositions during knitting.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 the needle 1 is made from a curved plate having aU-shaped cross-section. At the base of the needle there are two lugshaving holes drilled therethrough in which a shaft 2 is positioned, athread 3 being guided under shaft 2 and along the bottom of the insideof the needle so as to prevent the thread from falling out of theU-shaped needle. The thread 3 extends lengthwise through the U-shapedneedle and leaves it at the top end thereof at 4.

When the thread leaves the said needle it is not controlled by an eye,only by the extremities of the U-shape needle which are bent somewhattowards each other (see FIGURE 2). Said inwardly bent ends provide anobstruction, so that the thread cannot leave the needle. However, thelacing up of the machine and the mending of broken threads is stillpossible without the use of lacing needles.

The open needles (see FIGURES l and 2) are respectively mounted on twoneedle beds, which are positioned opposite to each other and are movabletowards and away from each other, the points of the needles of the onebed moving in an are past the points of the needles of the other bed. Inorder to provide a connection between the threads being knitted, theends of the needles rice.

of the one needle bed must pass through an opening be.- tween a loop ofthe thread and the ends of the needles of the opposite needle bed andvice versa. The distance between the one needle and the next one on thesame needle-bed is determined by the blocks 5, which of course in anycase must provide a larger spacing than the width of the U-shapedneedle.

In FIGURES 3 and 4 the needle according to the present invention formanufacturing a finer knitted fabric has a body portion formed out of acurved plate having a U-shaped cross-section 6 with upright spaced sidewalls and a rounded bottom connecting the side walls. The extremity 7 ofthe needle is an extension of one of the side-walls of the U-shapedcross-section plate. The extremity 7 is flat and thin having a thicknessequal to the thickness of the plate which is bent into U-shape to formthe needle. The extreme end of the portion 7 is provided with an eye 8.The thread 9 extends through the U-shaped cross-section and -is retainedtherein by being passed under the shaft 2. Thus the thread passesthrough the U-section needle and, subsequently, along the side of theplate in the end 7 and finally through the eye 8.

The needles 11 of the two opposed beds 12 and 13 (FIGURES 5, 6, 7 and 8)are interposed in such a way that the thin plateshaped end 7 of theneedles 11 of the one bed 12 are positioned adjacent to the U-shapedportion of the needles of the opposite bed 13 (see FIGURE 4). Therefore,the blocks 14 between the needles of one needle bed can be made narrowerthan the U-shaped portion and need only be slightly thicker than theplateshaped end 7 (see FIGURE 8).

In this Way it is possible to pass the thread with a knot through theU-shape of the needle without making that U-shape narrower. In this waythe rows of needles of both beds can be positioned closer to each otherand, therefore, it is possible to use much finer needles and finerthreads.

A series of needles is mounted on the movable needle bed 12, withanother series of needles being mounted on the movable needle bed 13.The needle beds can be moved along arcs in the direction of the arrows aand b so that the ends of opposed needles cross each other, and also inthe axial direction of shafts 15 and 16 on which beds 13 and 14 aremounted for rotation (FIGURE 5). Contemplating the series of needles,which are mounted on the movable needle bed in the position of FIGURE 6one sees that the threads 9 having passed through the eye 8 extend backalong the needle and under a loop around the outside of the same needlewhich is at the end of the fabric being knitted. This happens with allthreads which extend back along the needles of the bed 12. Each threadextends at a slight angle from the end of end 7 across the U-shapedneedle 11 and forms a free chord from the eye to the loop over saidneedle. The opposite needle is thrust through the opening between saidfree chord and the curved shaft of the needle and the free chord will belooped over the opposite needle as the opposite needle rises.Simultaneously the loop on the first-mentioned needle is slid off theend of said needle as the needle swings downwardly and is passed ontothe knitted fabric below the newly formed loop on the opposite needle.

This process is repeated in the reverse direction as the needles swingin the opposite directions. That is, the needles on bed 12 will have theends 7 inserted under the free chords on the needles on bed 13 and newloops will be formed on needles on bed 12 while the loops on the needleson bed 13 will be transferred to the knitted fabric. Thus the needlesare partially broad and partially narrow in such a way that the narrowextension on the ends of the one series of needles can pass between thebroader path of the series of needles on the opposite needle bed. Thebroader arcuated portions hide the threads in the hollow of the U-shape.In this way the chords formed by the thread will always be attainable;however, the thread portions hidden in the U-shaped section are neverexposed. In this way the chords formed on the needles of the one bed canalways be caught by the needles of the other bed and vice versa.

I claim:

1. In a machine for automatically knitting fabrics, the combination oftwo needle beds mounted for swinging movement along arcs which curvetoward each other, a plurality of needles on each bed each comprising abody portion having an upwardly open U-shaped cross-section with uprightspaced side walls and a rounded bottom connecting portion connecting theside walls and through which threads are adapted to be guided, eachneedle having a single side wall extension extending from the end of oneof the side walls, the extensions on the needles on one needle bed beingon the sides of the needles toward one end of the needle beds and theextensions on the needles on the other needle bed being on the sides ofthe needles toward the other end of the needle beds, and the needles oneach bed being spaced a distance only slightly greater than thethickness of the side wall extension, the needles being suflicientlylong that the ends of the needles move along arcs and the ends of theextensions cross each other, and each extension having an eye in the endthereof. 7

2. A needle for use in a machine for automatically knitting fabrics inwhich there are two needle beds mounted for swinging movement toward andaway from each other along arcs, and each needle bed having a pluralityof needles thereon, said needle comprising a needle body having anupwardly open U-shaped cross section with upright spaced side walls anda rounded bottom connecting portion connecting the side walls andthrough which threads-are adapted to be guided, said needle having asingle side wall extension extending from the end of one of the sidewalls, and each extension having an eye in the end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,286,349 Kopp Dec.'3, 1918 I FOREIGN PATENTS 495,059 Italy July 7, 1954

1. IN A MACHINE FOR AUTOMATICALLY KNITTING FABRICS, THE COMBINATION OFTWO NEEDLE BEDS MOUNTED FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT ALONG ARCS WHICH CURVETOWARD EACH OTHER, A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ON EACH BED EACH COMPRISING ABODY PORTION HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPEN U-SHAPED CROSS-SECTION WITH UPRIGHTSPACED SIDE WALLS AND A ROUNDED BOTTOM CONNECTING PORTION CONNECTING THESIDE WALLS AND THROUGH WHICH THREADS ARE ADAPTED TO BE GUIDED, EACHNEEDLE HAVING A SINGLE SIDE WALL EXTENSION EXTENDING FROM THE END OF ONEOF THE SIDE WALLS, THE EXTENSIONS ON THE NEEDLES ON ONE NEEDLE BED BEINGON THE SIDES OF THE NEEDLES TOWARD ONE END OF THE NEEDLE BEDS AND THEEXTENSIONS ON THE NEEDLES ON THE OTHER NEEDLE BED BEING ON THE SIDES OFTHE NEEDLES TOWARD THE OTHER END OF THE NEEDLE BEDS, AND THE NEEDLES ONEACH BED BEING SPACED A DISTANCE ONLY SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THETHICKNESS OF THE SIDE WALL EXTENSION, THE NEEDLES BEING SUFFICIENTLYLONG THAT THE ENDS OF THE NEEDLES MOVE ALONG ARCS AND THE ENDS OF THEEXTENSIONS CROSS EACH OTHER, AND EACH EXTENSION HAVING AN EYE IN THE ENDTHEREOF.